Retainer for can closure

ABSTRACT

A retainer consisting of a clip or spring clip made of metal, plastic, or other material, specially shaped so that it may be readily affixed to rim of metal beverage cans for the purpose of attaching to the can and thereby conveniently disposing of the ring-and-tear-strip closure and opening device commonly used on such cans. Said clip, in the preferred embodiment, may be an integral part of the opening ring, so that the clip, ring, and tear-strip may be affixed to the can by manually pressing the clip over the rim of the can; or in an alternate configuration, may be separate from the ring and permanently attached to the rim or other part of the can, so that the opening ring and tear-strip may be affixed to the can by sliding the ring under the free end of the spring clip. As an adjunct to either form of my invention, or alone, a pouch or shield of flexible or rigid material, may be affixed to the can to cover or contain the ring-and-tear-strip.

United States Patent Bly [15] 3,656,653 1 Apr. 18, 1972 [54] RETAINER FOR CAN CLOSURE [72] inventor: Herbert Arthur Bly, P.O. Box 57, North Brunswick, NJ, 08902 [22] Filed: Oct. 20, 1969 [21] Appl. No.: 867,555

[52] U.S. Cl .-....220/54, 220/24 [51] Int. Cl. ..'.....B65d 17/24 [58] Field of Search ..220/54, 48, 24, 85 CH [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,320,767 5/1967 Whalen ..'.....220/54 X Primary Examiner-George T. Hall [57] ABSTRACT A retainer consisting of a clip or spring clip made of metal. plastic, or'other material, specially shaped so that it may be readily affixed to rim of metal beverage cans for the purpose of attaching to the can and thereby conveniently disposing of the ring-and-tear-strip closure and opening device commonly used on such cans. Said clip, in the preferred embodiment.

may be an integral part of the opening ring. so that the clip,

ring, and tear-strip may be affixed to the can by manually pressing the clip over the rim'ot the can; or in an alternate configuration, may be separate from the ring and permanently attached to the rim or other part of the can, so that the opening ring and tear-strip may be affixed to the can by sliding the ring under the free end of the spring clip. As an adjunct to either form of my invention, or alone, a pouch or shield of flexible or rigid material, may be affixed to the can to cover or contain the ring-and-tear-strip.

1 Claim, 4 Drawing Figures l RETAINER son can CLOSURE SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of my invention is to provide a convenient, safe, and esthetically satisfactory means of disposing of the metal ring-and-tear-strip closure and opening device commonly used on'cans containing beverages and other liquid products. In its preferred form, my invention consists of aspring clip, made of metal, plastic, or other material, specially formed to grip the top rim bead ofthe can, by friction or spring detent action of a portion projecting under the can rim, and permanently attached to, or formed as an integral part of, the ring portion of the opening device, so that the ring-and-tear-strip opening device, after removal from the can, may be affixed to the top rim of the can by manually pressing the spring clip over it. The ring and tear strip are thus disposed of by affixing to the top and side of the can above the normal gripping position of the users hand, and in a position inconspicuous-to the user.

In an alternate principal form, the spring clip may be separate ,from the opening-ring-and-tear-strip, and permanently attached to the rim or other portion of the can, and

and therefore a convenient means of disposing of, the ringand-tear-strip.

DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of my invention in its preferred form, showing an opened can with the ring-and-tear-strip affixed to the top rim of the can by means of the-springclip, integrally formed as a part of the opening ring, and pressed over the rim bead of the can.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged section view showing a detail of the clip and ring affixed to the rim of the can, and showing the special form of the clip, gripping the seam head of the can.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged section view, showing the alternate principal form of the clip, permanently afiixed to the can, and not an integral part of the ring-and-tear-strip, with the free end formed in such a way that the opening ring may be readily pushed under it, and thereby retained by spring action.

FIG. 4-shows one form of a pouch, envelope, or shield, affixed to theside of the can by means of adhesive, used to cover and contain the ring-and-tear-strip.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION A large proportion'of cans used as containers for, butnot necessarily limited to, beverages, liquid food products, and the like, utilize a pre-scored tear-strip or tear-tab opening device on the metal tops of such cans. The user opens the can by lifting and pulling a ring or tab attached to thepre-scored portion of the top, thereby rupturing the metal and facilitating removing the entire tab by pulling and tearing the metal alongthe pre-scored lines.'After opening the can, the user must dispose of the torn-out strip portion of the can top with the'attached ring. By its nature and shape and the fact that the torn edges are curved and sharp, this ring and strip, in addition to being unsightly, presents a hazard of injury if thrown on the ground form shown in FIGS. 1,2, 3, and 4.

In the preferred embodiment of my invention, the spring clip is formed as an integral part of the opening ring portion of the opening device. It is slightly elastic, and shaped so that it may readily be pressed over the rim of the can. It is held in placeon the rim by the spring detent action of the projecting lower portion of the clip (FIG. 2, A) under the can rim head,

or may be held in place by friction of the clip on the can rim bead alone. The clip is normally located on the side of the opening ring, so that when the ring, clip, and tear-strip are af fixed to the can rim, they will be as high as possible onthe side of the canand thus above the normal gripping position of the user's hand.

In an alternate second form of my invention, the spring clip is entirely separate from the opening ring, and'is instead permanently attached to the rim or other portion of thecan during orafter the seaming operation (FIG. 3,). After opening the can, the user pushes the ring under the spring clip, thereby affixing the ring-and-tear-strip to the can in essentially the same location and position as shown for the preferred form of my invention in FIG. 1. The bottom portion of the spring clip (FIG. 3, A) is of such a form that the rim of the opening ring may readily be pushed under it. The ring is held in place and retained by the relieved or bent portion of the clip (FIG. 3, B) and prevented from falling out by the spring pressure of the clip in conjunction with said relieved portion.

After insertion in the spring clip or attachment to the can as shown in FIG. 1, the ring-and-tear-strip is inconspicuous to the user by virtue of its position on the side of the can opposite the opening. It is above the normal gripping position of the user's hand and is held close against the side of the can in such a position that the exposed edges of the tear-strip are unlikely to cause injury. Further, when the can is empty, the ring-andtear-strip is disposed of conveniently with the can and is unlikely to be thrown on the ground or left in an unsightly or hazardous place.

Other methods of attaching this second form of my invention to thev rim or other portion of the can which may be used are bonding with adhesive material, soldering, welding, clamping, or crimping under the seam or rim of the can, or by incorporating the clipas an integral or formed part of the can lid or body, or as an integral part of the canbody projecting from the vertical side seam.

As an adjunct to either the preferred or the alternate form of my invention, or entirely alone, a pouch, pocket, envelope, or protective shield of flexible plastic film or fabric or the like, may be affixed to the rim or surface of the can, to cover the affixedring-and-tear-strip, conceal it, or prevent the user's hand from contacting with the tear-strip. This pouch, or envelope may also be used entirely alone as a container and convenient disposing means for the ring-and-tear-strip.

Iclaim:

1. A retainer clip formed integral with a pull-ring handle portion attached to an, integral removal tear-strip portion of a container top, said retainer clip serving to secure said pull-ring handle and tear-strip to the bead of said container upon removal therefrom. 

1. A retainer clip formed integral with a pull-ring handle portion attached to an integral removal tear-strip portion of a container top, said retainer clip serving to secure said pullring handle and tear-strip to the bead of said container upon removal therefrom. 